E3 2005: Yoshinori Sasaki Interview
Wanna know what one of Konami's head producers is toiling away at these days? You'll have to check out our exclusive interview.
Published: June 13, 2005
PSX2.com: First off, I’d of course like to thank the two of you for taking the time to sit down and talk with me.
(Sasaki Murakami) Charles Murakami: It’s a pleasure
PSX2.com: You were the producer for Ys for the Playstation 2. I enjoyed that game - I’ve been a fan of the series for a long time.
(YS) CM: Thank you.
PSX2.com: What brought you to Konami, and how long have you been working there?
(YS) CM: He’s been working in the business for 21 years, working for Konami for 21 years (chuckles). Actually when he first started for Konami, he thought it was an electronic company and he would go into sales, there was no NES or Famicom yet, there was only MSX and arcade and in his original interview 21-years ago, he mentioned he took some music in college, so when Konami made the decision to make the music better for their games, he came on as a sound director. So he originally came into the business as a composer, he made Rouge Fighter, also Gradius and Twin-Bee and Time Pilot and Yi-Ar-Kung-Fu.
PSX2.com: Under the name Moai Sasaki?
(YS) CM: Yes.
PSX2.com: How did you feel Ys did in the United States? Did you feel it could have performed better?
(YS) CM: He says it didn’t sell all that well, but even though the sales were limited, those who have bought it seem to enjoy it very much, so in that respect, he finds it to be a success.
PSX2.com: Well, there is a real shortage of RPG’s on the PSP in the U.S.; do you think it will perform better on the PSP?
(YS) CM: Yes, he does feel that way.
PSX2.com: Do you think there was anything wrong with the U.S. version, or do you feel it doesn’t carry the kind of name recognition that other (RPG) games, such as Final Fantasy have in the U.S.?
(YS) CM: Right, it doesn’t have the kind of name recognition that games like Final Fantasy have, but he would like to see the series get bigger.
PSX2.com: I did know that you out the entire Japanese version of Ys, onto the American version, was their some group that pressured you to do that, or was that an internal decision in Konami?
(YS) CM: That decision was made internally, the reason why was to actually have the American and Japanese versions be somewhat similar, so the players will have similar experiences and so the Japanese version actually has the American voices hidden inside of it also and of course, it’s hidden in cheats. A little bit of story behind that is that, originally, the cheats had names attached to them, and one of them was ‘Let’s Learn Japanese’ and ‘Let’s Learn English’ were actually the titles given to those cheats, which wasn’t disclosed.
PSX2.com: Do you think anything was lost in the translation between the American and Japanese versions? Anything that you feel wasn’t fleshed out?
(YS) CM: Actually, the translations were done very well, and almost nothing has been dropped over in the translation. The translation is actually what we focus most on; to make sure the American side doesn’t lose anything.
(Sasaki Murakami) Charles Murakami: It’s a pleasure
PSX2.com: You were the producer for Ys for the Playstation 2. I enjoyed that game - I’ve been a fan of the series for a long time.
(YS) CM: Thank you.
PSX2.com: What brought you to Konami, and how long have you been working there?
(YS) CM: He’s been working in the business for 21 years, working for Konami for 21 years (chuckles). Actually when he first started for Konami, he thought it was an electronic company and he would go into sales, there was no NES or Famicom yet, there was only MSX and arcade and in his original interview 21-years ago, he mentioned he took some music in college, so when Konami made the decision to make the music better for their games, he came on as a sound director. So he originally came into the business as a composer, he made Rouge Fighter, also Gradius and Twin-Bee and Time Pilot and Yi-Ar-Kung-Fu.
PSX2.com: Under the name Moai Sasaki?
(YS) CM: Yes.
PSX2.com: How did you feel Ys did in the United States? Did you feel it could have performed better?
(YS) CM: He says it didn’t sell all that well, but even though the sales were limited, those who have bought it seem to enjoy it very much, so in that respect, he finds it to be a success.
PSX2.com: Well, there is a real shortage of RPG’s on the PSP in the U.S.; do you think it will perform better on the PSP?
(YS) CM: Yes, he does feel that way.
PSX2.com: Do you think there was anything wrong with the U.S. version, or do you feel it doesn’t carry the kind of name recognition that other (RPG) games, such as Final Fantasy have in the U.S.?
(YS) CM: Right, it doesn’t have the kind of name recognition that games like Final Fantasy have, but he would like to see the series get bigger.
PSX2.com: I did know that you out the entire Japanese version of Ys, onto the American version, was their some group that pressured you to do that, or was that an internal decision in Konami?
(YS) CM: That decision was made internally, the reason why was to actually have the American and Japanese versions be somewhat similar, so the players will have similar experiences and so the Japanese version actually has the American voices hidden inside of it also and of course, it’s hidden in cheats. A little bit of story behind that is that, originally, the cheats had names attached to them, and one of them was ‘Let’s Learn Japanese’ and ‘Let’s Learn English’ were actually the titles given to those cheats, which wasn’t disclosed.
PSX2.com: Do you think anything was lost in the translation between the American and Japanese versions? Anything that you feel wasn’t fleshed out?
(YS) CM: Actually, the translations were done very well, and almost nothing has been dropped over in the translation. The translation is actually what we focus most on; to make sure the American side doesn’t lose anything.